Orgatec 2012 in Cologne presents the 21st-century office as an urban landscape in colors as fresh as spring itself. Seldom does one feel so content at work – be it alone in a cocoon or in a meeting in a sheltered seating group.

Cell offices and cubicles are considered negative examples of office design. The era of what we would today regard as the human office started with the “Citizen Office”. Concepts such as the “Net'n'Nest” symbolize the attempt to combine networking and concentrated work. So will we in future work in a kind of adventure playground for adults?

The 23rd edition of the international “Biennale Interieur” in Kortrijk, Belgium, was yet another successful, appealing trade fair though of a slightly different kind, thanks to the mixture of manufacturers’ stands, intelligently chosen projects and the presentation of new design talents.

A site-specific installation by Canadian artist Cedric Bomford has radically changed the working environment in the large loft space that houses Stuttgart-based agency Dorten. The artist used found materials to create areas and installations that are surprisingly practical and have also given rise to a fundamental change in perspective.

October 23rd will see the presentation at Orgatec in Cologne of all the new products for the design of offices and public spaces. A list of selected exhibitors tells you which manufacturers are attending, and where to find them.

Are you still living or already working? Since the launch of the Internet we are not only available more or less everywhere online, but the line dividing work and living has become increasingly blurred. At least in some areas. Moreover, fixed office and work structures are increasingly dissolving. What does this mean for the contemporary office? How has it developed? Its history holds the one or other surprise in store.

The US architectural firm Höweler + Yoon won the Audi Urban Future Award 2012 with their detailed concept proposal for the Boston/Washington metropolitan region. The award ceremony was staged as part of the Istanbul Design Biennale.

Office furniture trade fairs are more than just a guide to new interiors, they’re social labs. In times such as these, when the world of work is changing super-fast, they promise to offer exciting insights into the changed mind-set. Some thoughts prior to Orgatec 2012.

And so the fall trade fair season begins! With Interieur in Kortrijk, Orgatec, Designers’ Saturday and Architect@Work, the coming weeks promise four first-class trade events.

On October 18, the “Audi Urban Future Award”, a collaboration between Stylepark and Audi, will be bestowed for the second time in Istanbul. As a foretaste of the scenarios developed by five architect teams for selected, densely populated metropolises and regions, we now present the participants and their projects. We asked the architects of Höweler+Yoon about their vision for the US conurbation “Boswash”.

On October 18, the “Audi Urban Future Award”, a collaboration between Stylepark and Audi, will be bestowed for the second time in Istanbul. As a foretaste of the scenarios developed by five architect teams for selected, densely populated metropolises and regions, we now present the participants and their projects. We have spoken to Urban-Think Tank about the possibilities for creating a new, comprehensive form of mobility in the world’s megacities.

On October 18, the “Audi Urban Future Award”, a collaboration between Stylepark and Audi, will be bestowed for the second time in Istanbul. As a foretaste of the scenarios developed by five architect teams for selected, densely populated metropolises and regions, we now present the participants and their projects. We asked the team at CRIT about the effect a wide variety of perspectives and assessments can have on our visions of the future.

On October 18, the “Audi Urban Future Award”, a collaboration between Stylepark and Audi, will be bestowed for the second time in Istanbul. As a foretaste of the scenarios developed by five architect teams for selected, densely populated metropolises and regions, we now present the participants and their projects. We asked the architects from Superpool how Istanbul citizens are included in the planning of their city.

On October 18, the “Audi Urban Future Award”, a collaboration between Stylepark and Audi, will be bestowed for the second time in Istanbul. As a foretaste of the scenarios developed by five architect teams for selected, densely populated metropolises and regions, we now present the participants and their projects. We spoke to Doreen Heng Liu from NODE about how the transportation infrastructure in regions such as the Pearl River Delta can work to the benefit of the people while simultaneously maintaining a high level of efficiency.

Until well into the 1970s, the “American Ranch-style house” was the most popular house type in North America – a kind of super-affordable soft Modernism. Now this symbol of the failed middle-class dream a classless home has suddenly become a monument. Not to mention hip.

For a total of ten days, Vienna firmly came under the sign of design. At this year’s Vienna Design Week there were exciting projects showing how tradition and young inventiveness can grow together.

September saw the tenth edition of the London Design Festival. The British capital put on over 130 events, a colorful mix of decorative trends, interesting topics, show and unusual locations.

The Japanese blog “rrrrrrrroll” creates small surprises with the technology of animated GIF. The initial point is always the axial rotation.

The Netherlands Architecture Institute (NAI) in Rotterdam is honoring the great American architect Louis Kahn with his first retrospective in 20 years. The Vitra Design Museum played an instrumental role in the conception of the exhibition, which will be on show there next year.

This hotel only has one room, but in exchange it is filled with all kinds of curiosities just waiting to be discovered and explored. Who else could be behind this unusual concept other than Dutch design collective Droog? It recently unveiled its first hotel in Amsterdam.

Open Design has not yet conquered the world of design. But in the not too distant future it could be quite normal to share one’s intellectual property in an entirely new way.

Each decade develops its own architectural visions for the future. While some of the great forward-looking buildings of the 20th century are under monument protection, others are falling into decay – or have been targeted for demolition. A subjective glimpse at buildings that once aimed to anticipate our future and are for that very reason worth holding on to.

The traditional Japanese furniture maker Karimoku has reinvented itself as a new label. Karimoku New Standard fields products made of wood with an unmistakable Japanese touch – and collaborates in the process with designers such as Scholten & Baijings.

This fall, the presentation at Paris’ “Maison&Objet” focused on accessories of every shape and kind. Dominating themes in the trade fair halls of the “Parc des Expositions” included wood, porcelain and clever combinations of different styles.

Why develop a new product when you can simply reissue a design from the past? Contrary to one’s expectations, so-called “classics” are indeed required to prove their worth time and time again.

The “Trollstigen National Tourist Route” was recently opened in Norway. The view of the spectacular landscape can now be experienced from a series of bridges, trails, viewing platforms and a tourist center realized in a large-scale architectural project by Reiulf Ramstad Architects.

It is a well-known fact that Le Corbusier did more than just design buildings, he also furnished them, in fact went so far as to purpose-create furniture for them. Arthur Rüegg has spent years examining these designs by the French architect. Now his book “Le Corbusier. Furniture and interiors 1905-1965” has made it into bookstores.

David Chipperfield wanted to give his profession some direction. Yet this once again proves that the function of architecture and the role of the architect do indeed find themselves in a state of flux – in more ways than one.

In some of the country pavilions at the Architecture Biennale it becomes clear that the “Common Ground” of construction and a shared life cannot be a matter for the architects alone.

Venice-born architect Carlo Scarpa worked for the Venini glass manufactory from 1932 until 1947. Coinciding with this year’s Architecture Biennale the new exhibition space “Le Stanze del Vetro” has launched – with an homage to Scarpa’s Murano glass creations.